What was will never be
by Binakka
Summary: No one goes from good to bad overnight. Wyatt wasn't always bad. But what chain of events lead Wyatt from being an innocent child to the King of Evil? What journey did Chris follow that left him in the past? Why didn't the Elders stop Wyatt? Where were the Charmed Ones? This is the story of the world that would never be, it's heroes, it's evils and the ones it couldn't save.
1. Woes of the Brother

_2014_

Chris sat on his mothers lap, wiping away the stray tears that spilt down his face. He didn't care if it made him a baby. He curled up beneath her chin, holding out his arm as she bandaged the magical burn. It stung and the ointment made the burn resonate through his arm until he couldn't tell whether the pain was coming from the burn near his wrist or at his elbow and shoulder. "That should do it until your Dad comes back." Piper pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Does it still hurt?"

Chris shrugged but tears were still spilling down his face. It really hurt. He just wanted his Dad to come back and heal the arm. Piper rocked his back and forth. "Oh baby. I'm so sorry you got caught in the crossfire. But you know your brother is really sorry."

"Why is he so mean to me?" Chris asked. "He always hurts me." Piper wiped the tears as quick as they fell and Chris wanted to stop them because he could see the pain on his face.

"Oh my little Peanut." she smiled at him sadly, tears in her own eyes. "Wyatt doesn't understand sometimes. It's no excuse. He should never hurt you and he knows that. He's going to be in a lot of trouble when your Dad brings him back. But he just can't control himself."

Chris's brow furrowed. "But why? I don't hurt him. I don't hurt Mel either and I'm her big brother. Doesn't he love me?"

"Baby, Wyatt loves you very much. And you are the best big brother in the world to Melinda." His mother sighed and tried to explain it best she could. "When Wyatt was very little, before you were born, something bad happened to him. He was taken away by someone very evil who tried hurting him and none of us could save him because we couldn't find him and I couldn't be there because I was pregnant with you and thought something bad had happened." She bent forward and kissed him on the nose. "The man hurt him so much and the only way he could make it stop hurting was to hurt whoever the man was. We don't know what happened but we know he vanquished the man and saved himself. He was very little and it made him confused. Now, your Daddy, Aunties and I have to help him not be confused."

"Is he... Is he evil?" Chris asked. He stuttered over the word, scared of what it meant even. Evil was what they vanquished. It was dangerous and scary and it wasn't something Chris liked coming across. If his brother was evil that meant he was going to be vanquished. Despite everything, Chris loved his brother. He didn't want to see him gone.

She shook her head, her hair shaking around her. "No. He's just still hurting. It was very scary for him and to stop being scared he hurts people, even if they're someone he really loves. But he's getting better. Isn't he?" She raised her eyebrow at him and Chris had to think about it. He didn't ever want to make his mom upset though and though he didn't really know the answer he nodded.

"Yeah, Mom. He is." Chris leant forward to bury his face in her neck and her hand came up and carded his hair.

"You know if he ever hurts you when he's having a fit, you have to tell me straight away. No matter what's going on with Wyatt, I will always be there for you too, Peanut." Piper murmured. "I don't love either of you any more or less than the other."

Chris knew that. What he didn't know was what had happened that morning to set Wyatt off. It was just a normal day and Chris, Wyatt, Melinda and the older cousins were playing a game when Henry shouted out it was good cops versus bad cops and Wyatt was a bad cop. He got really angry all of a sudden. When Chris had tried to calm him down, Wyatt turned on him and Chris became a target of blind rage. The cousins and Melinda had gone to Magic School once Piper came in and broke things up.

As Piper rocked back and forth with Chris in her arms to subside his tears and take away some of his pain with just her soothing words. "I love you, Peanut."

Just then Leo orbed in. Chris looked around for Wyatt but he was nowhere to be seen. "He's calmed down and he's upset for losing control. He's also upset that he hurt you, Chris."

"Yeah well, maybe some healing would help Chris." Piper said.

Leo looked down at the bandage on Chris's arm and sighed. "Sorry, Chris. Didn't see it. Give me your arm." Chris stretched his arm out reluctantly to his father, the action hurting him more than it should have. He curled further into his mother as Leo healed the burn and sniffed back the remaining tears as the burn was healed.

"Thank you." he said quietly and Leo affectionately rubbed Chris's hair. "Where's Melinda?"

"At magic school with the cousins."

"I better go check on them. Make sure they're not hurt too."

"I already checked. Chris was the only one."

Leo smiled sadly down at Chris. "You know when your brother has a fit, you should leave him alone and come get one of us straight away." Chris flinched and shrugged his shoulders.

"I just wanted to help him."

"Yeah, but now Wyatt's really upset because he thinks he hurt you."

"Leo, it's not Chris's fault. He didn't do anything wrong. He wanted to help his brother and he tried to do the right thing. Now next time he knows, don't you Chris?" She pressed a kiss on his forehead and Chris nodded, barely glancing up at his father and guilt made him feel terrible again. He could feel the burn like a ghost and now it hurt his whole body.

"Can I take a nap?" Chris asked. He hadn't asked to willingly nap for years.

"Sure baby. Leo, want to take him upstairs?"

Leo started to lean down when he paused and look up to the ceiling. He huffed and leant down, pressing his lips to Chris's forehead. "How about I come back and maybe read to you? Wyatt needs me." He shot a concerned look to Piper who couldn't help but nod understandingly.

Chris was getting too big to be carried but Piper hauled him up anyway and carried him all the way up to his room. "I could have orbed." he said quietly when they got inside.

"What? You orb? You tell me that now?" she laughed when he giggled and then put him in his bed. "Your Dad will come down when he's finished with Wyatt. But for now, do you mind sharing a bed with me? I'm a bit tired myself after such an eventful day."

Chris took a moment to consider it then nodded his head and Piper sat back in the corner against the wall, propped up by pillows and let Chris lay across his lap. "Want to grab me your favourite book?"

Holding his hand out, Chris let his new music book fly into his hands. "Really? This is what you want me to read to you?" Chris just nodded his head and handed it to his mother. "Okay. A history of classical music… you're such a strange child." She read the theories of classical music aloud to Chris until he fell asleep, curled up against her. He wasn't surprised Leo didn't come. He never did.

* * *

A/N: Why do I always feel the need to publish something on my birthday? I haven't written anything, especially for Charmed for years. I did a binge watch the other day and then got a writing bug and decided to do a series of one-shots that will be a rough story line of the Unchanged Future and are a little bit Chris-centric but I might focus on some other people too. I've progressed from the angsty/emo stuff of my childhood – I was thirteen years old writing FanFiction, that was pretty much all I knew with my hormones running around – so hopefully this isn't as horrible as what I used to write.

BUT – in saying all of the above. I haven't read the comics. I know what is canon (I looked it up on the wikia) but I sort of liked the world I built up in my head when I was thirteen. So forget the way the canon children are and I'll tell you how I always thought of the kids. I added some things to allude to some canon stuff but this is just what I thought it was when I watched the finale and you know what? I like my version better. :P

Ages/age differences in 2014… From there you can all work it out.

**_Piper Halliwell &amp; Leo Wyatt_**

**Wyatt Matthew Halliwell:** 12

**Christopher 'Chris' Perry Halliwell: **10

**Melinda 'Mel' Prudence Halliwell:** 7

**_Phoebe Halliwell &amp; Coop_**

**Prudence Johanna 'PJ' Halliwell: **7

**Parker Eline Halliwell:** 5

**Penelope 'Posey' Sophia Halliwell :** Just born soooo… 0

**_Paige Matthews &amp; Henry Mitchell_**

**Henry Bailey 'Junior' Mitchell:** 8

**Patricia 'Patty' Samantha Mitchell: **5

**Piper 'Pipa' Marcia Mitchell: **5

P.S. Look at my bio for the reason why I drift between British/Australian/American spelling...


	2. Concerto of Witches

_2015_

"No." Parker stomped her foot angrily and Wyatt had to hold back a laugh. Watching his six-year-old cousin get angry was kind of adorable. She looked a lot like her father except for her chocolate brown hair and these pudgy little cheeks that were so cute. She was glaring at her teacher backstage at the school play. Wyatt had left elementary school but Chris and the rest of the cousins, with the exception of Posey who had only just turned one, were attending still. He ended up sneaking backstage, having attended the same school previously and knowing the way, when he got bored sitting with the adults in the second row.

He looked over at Chris who looked more concerned than Wyatt did. The teacher was trying to get Parker into a dress for the play. She was supposed to be Gretal in a fairy tale play and her costume included a chequered dress. But there was a problem with that. "I don't wear dresses." Parker said, throwing her nose up into the air.

Chris rushed forward, always the worrier and put his hand on his cousin's shoulders when it looked like she was about to chuck a fit. "Sorry Miss K, but Parker really doesn't like dresses. Couldn't she wear something else?"

"We don't really have anything else, Christopher. She didn't say anything earlier."

"I can turn them into pants." Wyatt offered. He could simply magic them into pants. It was easy enough. Wyatt's magic worked in a way none of the other cousins did. He could simply think of something and it happened. If he concentrated on the skirt for just a second, they would turn into a pair of pants.

"How do you suppose to do that, Mr Halliwell?"

"Magic." he said, eyes twinkling.

Chris's eyes bugged out of his head and he turned to Miss K and said, "He's joking. Of course. What he means is he's good at… sewing. Really good at it. Parker, can you please just wait here while I go and talk to my brother? I mean really. He shouldn't even be back here." Chris pushed Wyatt away from all the drama and he went willingly but he was a little annoyed.

"I was just sticking up for Parker." Wyatt defended.

"Not in the right way. Look Wy, you can't solve everything with magic. You _know_ that."

Wyatt let out a dramatic sigh and carded a hand through his curls. They were getting longer and a little unruly. He would have to cut them soon, though he really didn't mind them. He looked at Chris and saw the insistence on his little brothers face and knew that he was waiting for some sort of response from him. "What? I was dong the right thing by Parker. She hates dresses. Dunno why, but she does. So if I just magic them into pants, she'll be happy."

"Personal gain." Chris scolded.

"Apart from seeing my little cousin happy, where's the selfishness?"

"Think about how upset Mom and Dad would be if they heard what you just said." Chris argued, crossing his arms over his chest.

That made Wyatt freeze. Watching his mom upset was possibly the worst thing imaginable. He hated when Piper was disappointed in him and she had been disappointed so many times. When he abused his magic, when he hurt Chris and Melinda whether it was by accident or not and sometimes when he just refused to believe in their mantra of Good magic versus Bad magic. He didn't get it. He knew there was good and bad things but he didn't know how magic affected it or why personal gain was even a factor. Everyone else used their magic to get what they wanted and the only thing Wyatt could see stopping them were the limits to their power.

Wyatt had no limits. He didn't even have to try to be more powerful than his siblings and cousins. He just was. It wasn't a gloating thing either. It was a fact and Wyatt didn't understand why saying it aloud made him seem obnoxious or why he should play it 'weak' so they didn't feel inferior. It wasn't his fault they felt that way and he felt stupid pretending he was anything but powerful. It's just the way things were.

"Mom and Dad would be upset with me." he muttered when Chris gave him the puppy dog stare. They would be upset with Wyatt if they knew the way he thought about his powers in relation to his cousins too, which was why he never said anything. "Don't worry, Chris. I won't go off the deep end. Not on your big night."

Relief crashed over his little brother and he sagged down, looking so much older than eleven. Wyatt saw something in his eyes and it was a flicker of fear. He frowned and took a step towards him. "What's wrong, little brother? Look, I swear. I'm not going to lose it tonight."

Chris glanced at Wyatt with a frown and shook his head. "No. That's not it. I'm just…" he drifted off and looked behind Wyatt where the stage was, the curtains still closed as parents entered. He wrung his hands together. "I want tonight to be perfect. I've never… this is the first…"

Wyatt realised what his brother was afraid of and laid his hands over his shoulders, squeezing them. He was just a little bit taller than Chris, not by much but he bent forward anyway so they were eye to eye. "Hey. Tonight is going to be great. You're going to be great. I've been listening to you practice like crazy every morning and every night. And if you don't get the biggest applause of the evening, I'll get mom to freeze the whole room and then go around and steal everyone's wallets because I'm know that they should be paying a lot more than a small donation to watch you perform. If they don't give you the respect you deserve, I'll make them compensate in cash."

Chris laughed and beamed up at Wyatt, the grin making it all worth it. "Thanks Wy. Is… Is Dad here?"

"Yeah. Got the camera out and everything."

"Awesome." Chris bounced on the balls of his feet and the lights backstage dimmed. "You better go to your seat."

"Break a hand out there." Wyatt said.

"It's break a leg, idiot." Chris rolled his eyes.

"Just break a lot of stuff." Wyatt ruffled his hair on purpose, knowing how much his brother valued his locks and then walked to the door that went off stage. He could hear the host for the evening talking to the parents about switching off phones already when he was stopped by someone tugging on his jacket.

He turned around and saw Parker standing there, her brown eyes red and her chubby cheeks streaked with tears. "Wyatt, please can you fix my dress?"

Wyatt looked over his shoulder to where Chris was nervously tearing a hole in the floorboards with his pacing and looked back at Parker. He knelt in front of her and grinned. "Of course." She held out the offending dress and Wyatt waved his hands over it, turning in from a dress into a pair of overalls. "You got a t-shirt to wear underneath?"

"At home I do." Parker admitted sheepishly.

Wyatt held out his hand and the t-shirt appeared in it. "There you go." he leant down and kissed her forehead. "Go and have fun, Gretal." Parker giggled and Wyatt stood up wondering why that was so bad. It wasn't personal gain if he did things for the ones he loved and to protect them. Even if it was just to protect them from a fashion choice.

He went back into the audience, shuffling between his aunts and uncles, Posey, Billie and Grandpa until he found his seat between his mom and dad. Piper sat on the end and Leo was next to Henry. The kindergarteners were out first and none of his family were in this particular performance. Piper leant closer to Wyatt. "How's your brother?"

"Freaking out." Wyatt laughed quietly. "But seriously, he's got this. I've been listening to him play all week. He never stops. I reckon I could do it if something went wrong."

They sat through a performance of an over done teapot and a hare and a tortoise then came on the mixed up fairy tales of the first graders, with Parker playing a tomboyish Gretal and Patty and Pipa play two of the three little pigs. When their performance began, Leo took out the video camera and held it up to record them. Melinda and Prue were in a choir of third graders a few performances after and then there was Junior playing a tree in a fourth grade performance about Cinderella. Junior was not much of a performer but Henry was beaming and giving him the thumbs up the entire time while Paige just tried not to laugh.

Chris was in sixth grade so the fifths played in between. Leo put away the camera for the moment and they all watched the other parent's children politely. The sixth grade performances had one big one and a few smaller ones to show off the kids with talent. Chris was the first to go on and Wyatt shook his leg in anticipation for his brother.

The host teacher came out to introduce Chris just as Wyatt felt something tingle in his brain. He frowned and looked up and his mom noticed beside him. "What is it?"

Wyatt looked at Leo who was staring up and frowning and even Paige looked annoyed. "I think we're being summoned." Wyatt said.

"I'll go see what's going on." Leo said, handing the camera to Henry. He stood up and started to shuffle away.

"Our next performer is one of our most talented young students and an amazing piano player. Please welcome, Chris Halliwell." The applause started and teacher went off the stage just as Chris hesitantly walked on and towards the piano. His eyes however didn't leave the audience.

Piper reached over and grabbed the back of Leo's shirt. "Leo. Your son is about to start playing."

"Henry will record it." Leo said, looking pointedly at his brother-in-law who nodded, lifting up the camera. Wyatt heard the jingling again and looked up again. Leo did too and Chris stopped mid stride and glanced at his family. "I need to go find out what's going on. I think you should all leave after this though. It sounds urgent." Leo moved down the row and Wyatt looked up just in time to see Chris's eyes following him out. Leo did manage to look up momentarily and shot an apologetic look to Chris before going to the doors.

An awkward silence had settled over the crowd and Chris stood in the middle of the stage, watching his father walk out. He didn't move and Wyatt could see the pain all over his face. He knew he needed to do something about it. He waved his hand and gave his brother a telekinetic shove and he staggered forward then turned his head straight to Wyatt. "Woo! Go Chris!" he shouted out and restarted the applause that was made especially loud by the Halliwell clan. They just thought Chris was nervous and Henry started the camera up as Chris walked over to piano, pushed on by the cheering crowd.

He sat down, wearing nothing special. Just a nice pair of jeans and a shirt Piper bought him. He held his hands up above the keys and paused before landing his fingers down on the keys and playing the first few notes of _Fleur de Lise._

Wyatt wasn't a big music buff but he could tell Chris was just special and that he was an amazing player. The first few notes sounded so sad but beautiful and he wanted to go on stage and hug his brother then punch out all the Elders. But the more he played the more the piece started to change and he gained his confidence back. The music changed from sad to angry and then to resigned. Wyatt knew Chris was upset with their father and it poured out in the keys.

When he was done the crowd was amazed. Chris turned bright red and looked back at the applauding crowd but he no longer focused in on one face. He just beamed, living in his moment for the time and bowed before shuffling off stage. "Let's go." Piper said. "We'll collect your brother then get to the Manor and find out what's going on. He was amazing though. I just wish your father had stayed."


End file.
